Dir. Zack Snyder
Writ. Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
Act. Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominc West, Rodrigo Santoro

Wow, I had no idea I would be eating my words three months later. Back in January I called the movie Smokin Aces the best action movie to come out in the last three years or so, and low in behold, the gods of action movies give me 300. This has got to be one of the biggest testosterone movies ever and that is saying something. There is lots of violence, blood, and something that has been missing in movies for quite sometime, manly courage in the face of death. Through in a little bit of female nudity and you got yourself an afternoon of excitement that is sure to please everyone with a Y chromosome.

In a nutshell, King Leonides, played by Gerard Butler (Beowulf & Grendel,) King of the Spartans leads his best 300 men to take on the one million man army of the Persians who are invading Greece. Back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo, played by Lena Headey (The Brothers Grimm,) must convince the Senate that it must send the remaining Spartan army to Thermopylae to support the King even though her efforts are being undermined by Theron, played by Dominic West (Hannibal Rising,) who has betrayed the Spartans and allied himself with Xerxes, played by Rodrigo Santoro (Love Actually.)

If I was asked by someone to give a list of some of the greatest manly performances of all time, Butler would have to be near the top of the list. This guy just oozes testosterone. Now he was helped by the script because there are some lines that are awesome. One of my favorites goes roughly like this, "Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight we dine in Hell!" The script is riddled with great lines for both men and women and screenwriters Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, and Michael B. Gordon did a great job of adapting Frank Miller's graphic novel. Gerard Butler did a great job of bringing Leonides to life and I fully believe that after the movie shoot his voice must have been gone but it was worth it every time he screams "Spartans!"

This movie also happens to be very patriotic, something unheard of for a Hollywood movie. The entire speech given by the Queen to the Senate is talk of one's duty about Patriotism and that freedom and Democracy are not had without a price, and a heavy one at that. It also argues that it is not necessarily a bad thing to die for what you believe in, especially something as silly as country and the rights that come with it.

The movie also discusses courage which again appears to be something lacking in today's movies or society for that matter. The phrase, desecration is the better part of valor, seems to be the motto of all anti-war people in the country and the world and the movie seems to disagree with it. Doing ones duty in the face of death is a concept that is on short supply except for the people who live it everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan. This movie gives cause to think about the quality of the person who has courage and believes in Patriotism. This is something desperately needed in the back lots of Hollywood.

This movie is melodrama at its fines with an outstanding script and an outstanding leading man. We have had two of Frank Miller's graphic novels turned into movies and they both have been excellent. I can't wait to see the next movie and chances are if it is half as good as 300 and Sin City, then it will join both of those movies in my DVD collection. If you are a man, or a woman who likes well built men, 300 is a must see at the theater and must own on DVD.

Brian - the Naked Gun